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Dec 11, 2023

Mystery shrouds arrowhead landmark in San Bernardino Mountains

Is San Bernardino County’s giant arrowhead landmark a natural phenomenon, man made, or a combination of both? The region’s most notable landmark and the symbol of San Bernardino County has presented

Is San Bernardino County’s giant arrowhead landmark a natural phenomenon, man made, or a combination of both?

The region’s most notable landmark and the symbol of San Bernardino County has presented historians and researchers with a quandary for many years, and the mystery of the arrowhead’s origin is still not solved.

The arrowhead-shaped landmark is stamped on a 40-degree slope at the foot of the San Bernardino Mountains, just above Arrowhead Springs, and about one mile east of Highway 18. The arrowhead measures about 1,375 feet long vertically and 449 feet wide. It covers about 7.5 acres.

At an elevation of 2,800 feet, the arrowhead is visible from miles away. The landmark’s interior appears to be lighter than the surrounding mountainside. The contrast is caused by a proliferation of white sage and other light-colored plants in the interior that have been augmented by preservation projects over the past 100 years. The arrowhead’s outline has also been enhanced by preservationists who planted fire-resistant plants and shrubs around the perimeter in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Preservation efforts on the arrowhead were routine in the 1900s. From the late 1930s to the 1980s, numerous steel check dams were built to slow water erosion and protect the shape and appearance of the landmark.

Interestingly, the arrowhead landmark has been burned over several times, but within a couple of years, the distinct arrowhead shape reappears. The reappearance also occurred before the fire-resistant plants were introduced, but those plants likely improved the recovery process.

Based on reports and diaries from the 1770s to the 1850sm collected from early explorers, missionaries, surveyors, and settlers in the San Bernardino Valley area, there was no written mention of the arrowhead until 1865. People in these groups typically kept copious notes on their travels and surroundings, so it seems unlikely the landmark would have been missed or ignored.

Photo of the arrowhead landmark above the Arrowhead Springs Hotel, taken in 2006. The outline of the arrowhead has been enhanced by the planting of fire-resistant shrubs. Soil samples taken inside the landmark show no significant difference from samples taken on the outside. (Photo by Mark Landis, Contributing Photographer)

One of the earliest views of the arrowhead from the grounds of the Arrowhead Springs Hotel, circa 1870s. During this time, the arrowhead appeared rougher and less defined than in later years. Early captions on this photo identify the man on the donkey to the left as David N. Smith, founder of Arrowhead Springs, and the man behind the monument as John Brown Sr., an early pioneer of the San Bernardino Valley. (Courtesy of Mark Landis)

Close up view of the arrowhead from 2015, showing the lighter plants in the interior, and the steel check dams (in gullies) built to prevent water erosion. (Photo by Mark Landis, Contributing Photographer)

View of the arrowhead from the grounds of the Arrowhead Springs Hotel in 1883 show the landmark more defined than the earliest views, but still rougher and less defined than in modern times. (Courtesy of Mark Landis)

The mystery of when the landmark was formed is heightened by the fact that the arrowhead points downward to a group of hot springs near its base, and the hot springs throughout the area were clearly documented by some of the early visitors. With visitors so close to the arrowhead, how could they have missed or not mentioned the landmark?

The earliest written mention of the landmark may come from a description in a homestead claim filed in 1865 by David Noble Smith, founder of the Arrowhead Springs Infirmary.

A partial description of Smith’s property describes the location as “situated on East Twin Creek, about 6 miles North 17* East of San Bernardino, in the County of San Bernardino, embracing the table land and hot spring at the foot of Arrowhead Mountains, commonly known as the ‘Ace of Spades.’”

In the early descriptions, some local residents called the landmark the “Ace of Spades,” apparently not initially recognizing it as an arrowhead shape. The statement “Arrowhead Mountains,” commonly known as the “Ace of Spades” in the homestead claim confirms the two names are the same location.

According to some early San Bernardino-area historians, Native Americans from the area had long believed the great arrowhead landmark and the spring waters below were sacred. These accounts likely led to the numerous legends concocted by local promoters, and used to romanticize the area’s history.

In 2007, Norman Meek, professor emeritus of geography and environmental studies at Cal State San Bernardino, did historic research on the arrowhead. He performed extensive soil tests on the arrowhead’s interior and exterior. He wrote a research paper with noteworthy discoveries and he came to some interesting conclusions.

Meek noted there was no significant difference between the arrowhead’s interior and exterior soil samples, except for small, elevated amounts of phosphorus and lead in the interior. Meek surmised the higher levels of phosphorus and lead could have come from fire retardant chemicals dropped on the site during firefighting efforts over the years.

So how and when did the arrowhead take shape on the mountainside?

David N. Smith, the original developer, and owner of Arrowhead Springs from 1863 to 1883 was routinely described as a man of meager means, and his early tax records confirm that.

When Smith filed his homestead claim on the Arrowhead Springs property in 1865, the arrowhead landmark was noted as a feature there, and he didn’t have the funds or resources to create or even embellish the arrowhead.

From a practical standpoint, the slope of the arrowhead landmark is so steep, any work to clear or modify 7.5 acres of brush at the site would have been an enormous task, and it would have received attention from local residents and newspapers.

Even with a high level of interest from historians and researchers over the past 100 years, no written mentions, or descriptions of humans creating the arrowhead have been found.

If the arrowhead isn’t man made, how was it created?

In an August 2023 interview about his research document, Meek said, “The typical landslide on an angle that steep causes an arrowhead shape. People may have added the arrowhead shaft later to accentuate the shape.”

“Other arrowhead shapes have appeared on the local mountains, including one in Devore,” Meek said. He also believes that The Great Flood of 1862 had ample intensity to create the arrowhead landmark.

The first documented appearance of the arrowhead in 1865 clearly coincides with The Great Flood of 1862, which is described by meteorologists as a “Noachian” event (a reference to the biblical flood of Noah). The flood caused widespread devastation across the western states and the San Bernardino Valley was heavily impacted by the storm.

Exploring the landmark’s known history and scientific studies brings us closer to an answer. The Great Flood of 1862, along with possible man-made enhancement seems to provide the most likely explanation for the mystery of the arrowhead.

Mark Landis is a freelance writer. He can be reached at: [email protected].

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